Researchers comparing psychedelic experiences with near-death experiences that were not drug related found notable similarities in people’s attitudes toward death. In a survey-based study published in the journal PLOS ONE, participants in both groups reported having less fear of death and dying after the experience. They also reported that the experience had a lasting positive effect, providing personal meaning, spiritual significance and psychological insight.
The results are in line with a number of previous trials showing that a single treatment with the psychedelic psilocybin produced sustained decreases in anxiety and depression among patients with a life-threatening cancer diagnosis. The largest of these trials was conducted at Johns Hopkins Medicine by the researchers, and involved 51 patients with cancer with anxiety or depressive symptoms. It demonstrated that psilocybin with supportive psychotherapy resulted in significant increases in ratings of death acceptance, as well as decreases in anxiety about death.
For the present study, the researchers analysed data gathered from 3192 people who answered an online survey between December 2015 and April 2018. Of these, 933 individuals had non-drug near-death experiences, and the rest of the participants had psychedelic experiences due to either lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) (904), psilocybin (766), ayahuasca (282) or N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) (307). Compared with the non-drug group, there were more men in the psychedelic group (78% versus 32%), and they tended to be younger (32 versus 55 years of age) at the time of the experience.
Similarities between the groups include:
- About 90% of participants in both groups reported a decrease in fear of death when considering changes in their views from before to after the experience.
- Most participants in both groups (non-drug group, 85%; psychedelics group, 75%) rated the experience to be among the top five most personally meaningful and spiritually significant of their life.
- Participants in both groups reported moderate to strong persisting positive changes in personal well-being and life purpose and meaning.
Differences between the groups include:
- The non-drug group was more likely to report that their life was in danger (47% versus the psychedelics group, 3%), being medically unconscious (36% versus the psychedelics group, 10%), or being clinically dead (21% versus the psychedelics group, less than 1%).
- The non-drug group was more likely to report that their experience was very brief, lasting five minutes or less (40% versus the psychedelics group, 7%).
The researchers say that future studies are needed to better understand the potential clinical use of psychedelics in alleviating suffering related to fear of death.
Source: John Hopkins Medicine
